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CASS LAKE—The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a community outreach meeting Thursday, July 12, in Cass Lake to address opioids and heroin use in the area. The two-hour meeting will include information about the identification and effects of opioids, fentanyl and causes of overdoses, investigation and prosecution of opioid-related drug cases and ways to combat opioid abuse on a community level.
BEMIDJI—Beltrami County Sheriff candidate Ernie Beitel announced Wednesday that he has officially filed for the office. Beitel originally declared his candidacy in February, shortly after current Sheriff Phil Hodapp said he will not seek a fourth term. Beitel has worked as chief deputy for more than five years. He began his law enforcement career as a Glenwood, Minn., police officer in 1984. From 1987-89, he worked as a Pine River, Minn., officer and from 1989-95 he served as a Cass County sheriff's deputy.
BEMIDJI—Firefighters responded to three Bemidji area wildfires on Friday as dry conditions and gusty winds led to a "Red Flag Warning" for much of the state The Bemidji Fire Department and state Department of Natural Resources firefighters responded to three wildfires Friday, Bemidji Fire Chief Dave Hoefer said in a release.
BEMIDJI—A level three sex offender will move to a different area of Bemidji on Saturday, officials said Wednesday. The Bemidji Police Department posted a news release with details about Tadashi David Andersen's move on social media Wednesday. According to the release, Andersen—who was released from prison in June and previously lived at the 1100 block of East Avenue NE—will move to an address on Harrison Court SW.
BEMIDJI—A opioid overdose response training sponsored by BSU, Leech Lake EMS and other organizations is set for Tuesday, March 6, on campus. The training will be held twice: once at noon in the lower Hobson Memorial Union's Crying Wolf Room and once at 7 p.m. in Room 100 of Hagg-Sauer Hall. Sponsored by BSU's Student Center for Health and Counseling, Leech lake EMS, Indian Health Services, the Rural AIDS Action Network and Face It TOGETHER, the training will help attendees learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose and teach them how to respond.
WILTON—A man was injured and a horse was killed in a Wednesday morning car crash in Wilton. According to the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, a Ford Fusion traveling on U.S. Highway 2 at about 3:20 a.m. hit and killed the horse, which belonged to Gary Bryngelson, 82, of Wilton. The horse was on the roadway when it was struck. The Fusion's driver, Jeremy Rauch, 46, of Guthrie, was taken by ambulance to the Sanford Bemidji Emergency Room, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
TURTLE RIVER TOWNSHIP—No one was hurt when the garage of a Turtle River Township house went up in flames Thursday. According to a news release from the Bemidji Fire Department, firefighters arrived at the scene at about 11:02 a.m. and found the garage was fully engulfed, with the fire spreading to the house. Eighteen firefighters used three fire engines, three water tenders, a rescue unit and a command vehicle to put out the fire. The department was on the scene for about three hours; the fire caused about $80,000 in damage.
BEMIDJI—For the second year in row, a local women's leadership group will hold a walk for missing and murdered indigenous women. Scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 14, the walk is meant to call attention to the disproportionate amount of violence against Native American women and show solidarity with similar events taking place nationwide. The first Bemidji march was held on Feb. 14, 2017. It was planned by the Indigenous Environmental Network's women's leadership group Ogimaakwewiwin.
WALKER—Eelpout Festival organizers believe there will be no vehicle restrictions during this year's festival. Thanks to this year's cooler temperatures, festival attendees will likely be able to drive campers, trucks and cars onto the ice as they see fit. This is a change from the 2017 and 2016 Eelpout festivals; unseasonably warm weather prompted restrictions those years. Last year, for example, the Cass County Sheriff's Office decided to only allow snowmobiles and class 1 and 2 all-terrain vehicles on the ice for a portion of the festival.
BEMIDJI—The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources continued to warn of ice safety risks Wednesday, citing inconsistent ice thickness on Minnesota lakes. Despite recent below-zero temperatures, some lakes have less ice than they typically would by late December. Leech Lake, for example, has only 6 inches of ice in some places, while other areas have 16, the DNR said.